Quilts!

I finally got to a Vintage Stitchers meeting!

You have already seen quilt tops and UFOs from Barbara's friend who passed away. The one above is a duplicate of one Barbara has already made (I think with different fabrics), so she was looking for a good home for it. It's machine-pieced and hand-appliquéd. The fabrics are mostly from the same Robyn Pandolph line I had used to make this quilt for DDIL1 a couple of years ago.

Since she's a quilter, and it coordinates with the other one, I thought DDIL1 might like to have it to quilt.

Barbara also has this one from her late friend. She will be taking it to be quilted. With luck (and fewer blizzards), you'll get to see it finished.

Speaking of Barbara's finished quilts, you may remember this one as a finished top.

Carol was putting the binding on this quilt, a BOM on the theme "Nursery Rhymes" made with '30s reproduction fabrics.

Marilyn had finished this machine-embroidered Christmas quilt.

Janet had helped a friend new to quilting make this T-shirt quilt. This is the friend's second quilt. (You can only see part of it, but there is a very large pope in the upper left-hand corner, doing a thumbs up.)

Barbara had just picked up this cross-stitch of hers from the framer. It will go on the wall to represent summer.

After Vintage Stitchers, I stopped by Davidene's to drop off my Kaleidoscope quilt for quilting and select some backing for it.

This is the top I made using the Kaleidoscope line from Connecting Threads. It was inspired by the line of fabrics on the back of the catalog. It has been finished for a long time, but I haven't had the money to get it quilted.

Speaking of quilting, I made some progress on my "Sistine Chapel" quilt. The Delectable Mountain blocks alone one side are half done.

My Impari Shawlette is done. I wore it on Sunday with my yellow turtleneck and navy cardigan and slacks.

We finally had a break in the weather, so I got outdoors to get a photo of Vroni in her new sweater and hat in real snow. She had the hat on, but the girls were throwing snowballs, and she got hit in the kitty ear. (There was a lot of giggling.)

I decided to make a steeked Fair Isle sweater for one of the dolls using the leftovers from my "So-not-my-palette Cardigan." I'm hoping it will fit Dolly. We'll see. I actually have three in my head, with different structure and different colors. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, Valentine's Day is almost upon us, so I snapped this photo of the "girls" sharing their Valentine chocolates with Vroni. (They've been telling her that chocolates aren't fattening if they are given to you by someone who loves you.)

I'm not sure she's buying it.

What's on my needles: Still the Impari Shawlette. The March of the Fibres is still waiting in the wings. Still hand-quilting my “Sistine Chapel,” working on the first border.

What's on my Featherweight: Still waiting for a new assignment.

What's on my loom: Still the leftover warp from the Multi Scarf. I still don’t know what I’m going to do with it yet..

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is set up again with more Full Circle spinning fiber, but feeling lonely.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Footsteps in the Dark, a mystery by Georgette Heyer. Then I listened to The Eyes of Darkness by Dean Koontz. I had listed to it on CD from the library years ago, but I found it refreshingly pertinent to today’s world, even though it was set in the ‘90s. Now I’m listening to Pets on the Couch (nonfiction) by DVM Nicholas Dodman. He’s a behaviorist, and much of what he has learned over the years has human applications. On the Kindle app, I gave up on The Housewife Assassin’s Deadly Dossier by Josie Brown. I had a hard time finding the plot in among all the sex. I haven’t really decided what to read next.

What's in my wine glass: Glen Ellen Reserve California Merlot, 2014 vintage. Very nice.

What's my tip of the week: When picking out quilt backing for a quilt that has lots of plain white or other very light background, be sure your backing won’t “visit” the front when you’re done. A fabric that’s printed on the right side but almost white on the wrong side will work well, or another light color. Place the backing wrong-side-up on a table or counter, and put your quilt top over it in a single layer. If you can’t see the backing with no batting in it, you won’t see it after it’s quilted. If you can see it, try with a bit of batting between the layers.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

In Stitches

The Steampunk Shawlette is finished and in use:
The pattern is The Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief by Orange Flower Yarn. The yarn is Malabrigo Arroyo in Piedras. DDIL2 and I made a trip to Wasatch & Wool, my local yarn shop, while the kids were visiting, and we both CO the same project, hers in a lovely colorway in shades of purple. She finished hers quickly, and I finished mine this past week.

Now I'm back to the Coral Reef Shawl, using Knit Picks 100% Merino Lace Weight I had dyed with Orange and Cherry Kool-Aid and a few drops of black food coloring. I'm just starting the border pattern.

The pattern is Enzian by Sue Berg, a free Ravelry pattern.

Also on my needles is Cookie A's Monkey Socks, which I've named "Pink Monkey."

The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll in Dogwood Heather. I CO these on the plane on the way back from Europe, because I wanted something entertaining. I didn't want to risk the ire of Amsterdam Security again with the NP needle tips, so I packed my Coral Reef Shawl in our checked luggage.

Also moving along is the first of the Fair Isle Flower Socks, now moving down the foot.

The yarn is Jawoll Aktion and Stroll Sock Yarn in White.

Quilters: Fear not, I will have something to report to the quilting world next week. Wednesday is my First Ladies class, and Thursday is Vintage Stitchers. My camera is ready!

What's on my needles: The Coral Reef Shawl, the Pink Monkey Socks and the Fair Isle Flower Socks.

What's on my Featherweight: The next block for the First Ladies Quilt

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Just finished listening to Georgette Heyer's These Old Shades and Devil's Cub, one after the other, both from Audible. The characters from the first book make an appearance in the second one. Both were good. Now Listening to The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen. Reading Private by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro in iBooks.

What's in my wine glass: Crane Lake Malbec 2013, one of our favorites.


Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Herding Cats

Let's get the fiber fun out of the way first, since it was a minor part of my life this past week.

DDIL2 (here for our family reunion) and I went to Wasatch & Wool on Monday so she could pick up some yarn to make the Age of Brass & Steam Kerchief as a KAL with her knitting group at home. She planned on making it into a shawlette by knitting an extra stockinette section. She chose a lovely Malabrigo Arroyo in Lavanda, which is a monochromatic colorway of grape-like purple tones. I couldn't resist selecting some yarn to make the same project, some Malabrigo Arroyo in Piedras. The kerchief is a fairly quick project, even with the extra section, if you have time to work on it. DDIL2 finished hers but for the blocking while they were here, and I have only the last stockinette stitch section to go.

The big event for this week, though, was the gathering of all our children and grandchildren (our family reunion) as part of our 50th wedding anniversary celebration. Here's our oldest with the youngest.

Johan (our youngest) is well into the toddler stage now. He had a good time watching the jays and the squirrels on the back deck.

The front deck turned into an outdoor play area for the kids. DH had picked up some cast-off toys at our community's "Dumpster Days." There were three riding vehicles, as well as some other toys someone no longer wanted. Daphne and Zachary showed how well they play together.

 

The yellow school bus was a present for Soren from his cousins, one he really enjoyed playing with.

I stayed home from the trip to the Hogle Zoo because I had come down with a cold and wanted to rest, but we took some walks together in the neighborhood. Several trips to various playgrounds/climbing facilities kept the kids busy as well.

On the 31st we had a picnic at the Jordanelle Reservoir, where the kids got to swim in shallow water and participate in some fun games and activities.

 

That night, our last night together and DD and DSIL's anniversary, we opened a couple of bottles of champagne and celebrated their anniversary, as well as the anniversaries of the rest of us. 

There were times it seemed like an insane asylum at our house, between Baby Johan who was into everything and the three-year-old boys Zachary and Soren (my, how I had forgotten, and I had never had two that age at the same time), but we had a wonderful time together and everyone arrived home again safely.

Our actual anniversary isn't until the middle of September, but we had to fit around everyone's vacation time. Little did I know 50 years ago, as I was planning for our wedding, what great kids and grandkids we would have someday.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.

Finishing Up the Year

Rocky's Sheep Sweater is finished.

I used the same pattern as the one I made for him previously, only with a different stranded pattern, using this time the sheep motif from "The March of the Fibres." Here's the link to the Ravelry page for Rocky's new sweater.

Common Threads met on Thursday. Margareth had finished her hat, and she had some new books to show off.

Karan had finished this shawlette.

Lynda has been meeting with Ginny to paint together. Ginny has been doing a lot of painting lately, but Lynda hasn't painted for years. She's back on the groove, thanks to collaboration with Ginny. It goes to show how we inspire and learn from each other.

I brought my "Reflections of Butterflies in Lemonade" quilt for show-and-tell. Ellen and Lynda held it up for a photo.

Here's the label, printed on EQ Printables printable fabric sheets. (Thanks, Davidene!):

Janet brought her finished Plus Sign quilt.

Ellen and I went to Salt Lake City on Tuesday. We stopped at Elaine's Quilt Block, and I picked up some fabric I liked.

Then this came in the mail from Connecting Threads:

Park City Singers performed at Swiss Christmas in Midway on Saturday morning, and Janet and I rode together. We stopped in at Seasons of Home, which was just catty corner from the City Hall building, where the performance was held. I picked up some nice fabrics to go with the ones I got from Elaine's. They were having a big sale, too. Here are the three half-yard pieces and three fats I picked up on Saturday (on the left).

Gotta love sales! (Like I need more fabric.)

What's on my needles: The Johan socks and Mr. F's clothes. The new sweater for Rocky is finished and in use. Still hand-quilting my Spring Flowers quilt, two appliqué blocks done and a little more than 1/3 of the entire quilt finished.

What's on my Featherweight: Still silently waiting for the next sewing project.

What's on my loom: The scarf I started some time ago, but I'm making good progress, now that some other projects are finished. I plan on warping for some rag rugs after the holidays.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Jodi Taylor's A Symphony of Echos, the second volume of The Chronicles of St. Mary's. Now listening to Dyeing Wishes by Molly MacRae. Both of these were from Audible. Still reading Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel, from Book Bub on the iBook app.

What's my app of the week: The Music app. I made a nice playlist with Christmas music, which I can play through our stereo using my Satechi radio transmitter or through our little JBL portable speaker, which I can wear around the house, attached to a belt loop by the built-in cabiner.

What's in my wine glass: Nathanson Creek Merlot, the big bottle.

What's my tip of the week: A pedicure outing makes a nice activity if you're having ladies (young or old) to visit over the holidays.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.